Chapter 7 - Don't Forget the Duty of a Mastermind
Chapter 7 – Don’t Forget the Duty of a Mastermind
When does human trust crumble?
When the other person lies? No.
When the other person hides the truth? No.
When the other person smiles in front of you but badmouths you behind your back? No.
Human trust crumbles precisely when you discover that ‘someone you thought was good because they acted like a saint despite being labeled as a mastermind was all fake, and your husband was actually the real mastermind.’
After hearing the whole story from Bill, the first emotion that consumed my mind was none other than ‘I was deceived.’
Not anger, not sadness, but that one plain fact left me dumbfounded.
‘No matter how strange the original story becomes, personalities shouldn’t change. Rubellian was originally the type to handle things quietly, so that’s why he hid his purpose until the end of the original story.’
Although various things had gone awry because I had been meddling around so much, when looking at Rubellian alone, it wasn’t strange for him to handle matters without my knowledge.
But what was this feeling of betrayal that kept bubbling up despite all that?
‘Wait, if he’s a mastermind, should he be a mastermind to his wife too?’
Recalling how Rubellian had said no when I asked if the assassin’s disappearance was his doing a few days ago, I felt another surge of emotion.
‘But why did you lie?!’
Actually, I think I knew why he hid it from me. I wouldn’t have told me either.
‘Still… you could have given me a hint.’
In the end, I had no choice but to struggle for a while between the betrayal of Rubellian deceiving me and the rational understanding that it made sense.
And late at night, I woke up to the sound of a carriage reaching my ears as I slept lightly. Sure enough, Rubellian slowly opened the door and entered.
“Eve?”
I sat on the bed with my legs crossed and arms folded, staring intently at him. I could see Rubellian’s face, clearly bewildered, not knowing what was wrong.
“Duke Rubellian Florence, let’s have a talk.”
My voice came out colder than I expected. Perhaps Rubellian noticed this fact too, as he hardened his expression and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is the crown prince safe?”
“…Did Bill tell you?”
“Would Bill have only told me that? He told me other things too.”
I got up from the bed and approached him, stopping at the midpoint.
“Explain. Why did you say you didn’t kidnap the assassin when I asked you?”
Only then, as if realizing what I was talking about, did he show a slightly surprised face before slowly hardening his expression.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not an apology.”
At my firm words, Rubellian hesitated. His red eyes, uncharacteristically filled with guilt, came into my view. For a moment, I barely managed to console my heart that was about to weaken and waited for his answer.
Eventually, after a brief silence, Rubellian’s mouth opened.
“The imperial family sent an assassin to give a warning to the House of Florence.”
“I know that. In the end, that was the reason we decided on revenge.”
“Yes. I was going to give the imperial family a return gift for that warning, but if I had told you in advance…”
As Rubellian chose his words, I took the opportunity to ask.
“Were you afraid I might let it slip? Didn’t you trust me?”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, but that I didn’t trust the crown prince. I didn’t know how he might approach you, and above all, I had to consider the possibility that he might send people around you.”
“……”
“But even so, it might have been my selfishness.”
“What was?”
“I didn’t want to tell you. I wanted you…”
Rubellian trailed off and stared at me. The guilt that was consuming his eyes pierced deep into my bones. He was genuinely sorry to me right now.
“…I wanted you not to know.”
“……”
“If there’s a first time for such things, there will be a second, followed by a third, fourth, endlessly. I don’t want you to get blood on your hands.”
“……”
“I… even if I can’t give you a peaceful life, I didn’t want you to experience such things.”
Rubellian’s subdued voice was telling only the truth.
Soon silence fell over the room.
I stared at him intently. I understood his feelings too. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help the feeling of being deceived.
But…
“Haah…”
I eventually let out a sigh.
“Really… when you say it like this, I can’t sulk, can’t fight, can’t even curse.”
“Eve?”
“You enjoyed such an entertaining spectacle all by yourself. If I had known the crown prince would collapse today, I would have gone to the imperial palace for fun! Besides, that assassin was so annoyingly rude to me! If I had known this would happen, I would have gone and kicked his butt at least twice!”
“E-Eve, are you okay…”
“I’m not okay, but what changes if I’m not okay?”
I grumbled huffily. Then I looked at him and said curtly.
“Just hurry up and wash and sleep. Today must have been tiring.”
At my words, Rubellian looked at me blankly, seemingly caught off guard by how easily I let it go, especially after having set such a serious tone upon entering.
“…Eve, aren’t you angry?”
“I am.”
That was true. After all, he definitely deceived me.
“But even if I get angry, would you include me every time you plan such things in the future?”
“That won’t do. I don’t want to dirty your hands with such matters.”
“Exactly. So what would be the point of dragging this out here except wasting time? Besides…”
I pouted my lips.
“It’s not like I don’t know why you did it.”
How could I not know how much Rubellian’s heart must have raced while hiding this from me, given his personality?
So instead of having nutritionally worthless conversations with him like ‘Why did you hide it from me?’, ‘I was trying to protect you!’, ‘I’m not your possession!’, ‘You belong to me!’, I decided to just accept it.
And didn’t I also have something I wanted to hide from him?
The fact that I was going to die.
In the end, I didn’t tell him because I hated seeing him know and suffer, and because I hated the idea of him giving up revenge because of me.
“I would have hidden it too if I were you.”
“……”
“But from now on, answer sincerely when I ask. Even if I’m bad at acting, I’m not so bad that I can’t fool the crown prince, and besides—”
That’s when it happened.
As I sighed deeply and turned around, a familiar scent suddenly enveloped me. I felt his firm embrace against my back, separated only by the delicate material of my slip. Soon he buried his face in my neck.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Just… I’m sorry for deceiving you. I’m sorry for not telling you the truth that day.”
I let out a small laugh, then cleared my throat with an “ahem.”
“When did I say I wasn’t angry? I am angry. I’m not going to kiss you for a week from now. Ah, I should have consummated our marriage earlier, then I could have threatened to use separate bedrooms now.”
“If you want, we can consummate it now.”
“Hmph, for whose benefit? If you’re really sorry, don’t lie to me from now on. Even if I lie to you, you won’t lie to me. Got it?”
“Do you have something you’re hiding from me?”
“Oh my, not repentant enough for you? That’s what you’re worried about right now?”
I gently pinched the arm of Rubellian, who was clinging to me like a child.
“You know I’m narrow-minded and emotional, right? So next time I’ll really get angry, and from now on, if there are any fun spectacles like this, do them with me. Now, let’s make a pinky promise.”
“Alright.”
Rubellian’s deep voice tickled my ear. I smiled at the relief in his eyes.
“By the way, is the crown prince dead? Are you coming back after the funeral?”
“…I understand your hope, but that would be problematic.”
“Tch.”
I pouted my lips. If they were going to shoot, they should have blown his heart away in one shot to make things proceed easily… or not. Hmm, that wouldn’t work. The emperor is still alive.
“Then what are you going to do? Don’t tell me you’re just going to end it childishly with ‘I returned the pain you gave me, so we’re even’?”
I pulled away the head of Rubellian, who was giving small kisses on my cheek, and made eye contact with him. This time he kissed my lips.
“Oh, really! Answer me properly.”
“Now that the crown prince has collapsed—don’t you think it’s the perfect time to make a move?”
“What kind of move are you planning?”
“Separating Melina from the crown prince’s side, and driving a wedge between the crown prince and the House of Colica.”
“I’ve thought about the former too, but how are you going to do the latter?”
I blinked my eyes.
The crown prince and the House of Colica weren’t something that could be brought down in such a short time. How terrifying it was to share interests.
This time Rubellian buried his face in my neck and whispered softly.
“Their close relationship comes from the crown prince protecting the House of Colica, but what if the crown prince becomes wary of the House of Colica?”
“But there’s no evidence.”
“There’s no evidence, but we can create it. Think about it. How would the House of Colica become distant from the crown prince?”
“…Don’t tell me, Rachel?”
“How clever.”
“Ah, geez!”
This time I firmly grasped Rubellian’s face, which was moving away from my neck and going downward, with both hands and forced eye contact.
Is what’s in front of me a dog or a husband right now… No, when I say it like this, it sounds really insulting. Anyway, why are you pushing your lips forward so much today?
“Focus on what I’m saying. So, you’re going to use Rachel to bring down the crown prince and the House of Colica?”
“Yes. If we just use the interest the crown prince has shown in the saint so far, it’s not impossible. Besides, rumors spread quite easily.”
I pondered Rubellian’s words and suddenly my face brightened at a thought that crossed my mind.
“Rubellian, if that’s the case, I have a good method.”
“What is it?”
Rubellian looked at me with an expectant face. I smiled brightly and gave his lips a quick peck.
“The crown prince came looking for her the morning after Rachel was hit by Acedium, and he brought holy water too.”
“Oh dear.”
“If Rachel being hit by Acedium was really the crown prince using the House of Colica to try to win the saint’s favor… the moment the House of Colica finds out about this—”
“They’ll be furious.”
The sequence would probably be like this:
Learning that Melina was looking for ways to harm Rachel, the crown prince thought it was a good opportunity to gain Rachel’s favor, so he subtly passed Acedium to Melina through the House of Colica.
The pretext would naturally be that the saint’s power was great and posed a threat to the imperial family.
The House of Colica would naturally cooperate since they wouldn’t want their power taken away by the temple.
“Now you just need to tell the House of Colica: ‘The crown prince tried to use you to gain the saint’s favor. The crown prince had no intention of getting rid of the saint from the beginning.'”
“Then eventually the relationship between the crown prince and the House of Colica will be ruined. Next, the method to separate Melina and the crown prince—”
“Ah, I’ll handle that myself. You just focus on the relationship between the House of Colica and the crown prince.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I have my ways.”
I smiled ominously. Rubellian’s deep eyes stared at me intently, then smiled. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek again.
“Yes. You’re always right.”
“That’s right. I’m always right.”
I could hear soft laughter by my ear. Soon his scent enveloped me.
For that moment, I liked the affection he gave me so much that I emptied my mind and focused only on him.
* * *
The next morning, news that the crown prince had been attacked by an assassin spread throughout the empire. Naturally, the nobles felt uneasy about the news.
“His Highness the Crown Prince should quickly rise from his sickbed.”
Just as I was attending Countess Alke’s tea party, I was pulled from my thoughts by Lady Dinance’s muttering.
Her worried expression about the crown prince’s safety didn’t seem fake, and for good reason—she was originally the lady of a house quite connected to the House of Colica.
“Indeed. Previously Duke Florence was attacked, and now His Highness has suffered such a thing.”
Countess Alke nodded, agreeing with Lady Dinance’s words.
“Duke Florence must be quite worried too. Isn’t he someone who gets along with His Highness like brothers?”
Whatever the inside story, that’s how it would appear to their eyes. I smiled naturally and answered.
“Yes. This morning too, he seemed busy investigating His Highness’s attack incident.”
“Oh dear. Duke Florence is having a hard time.”
“If their actions were fueled by resentment toward the House of Florence and the imperial family, then they’re truly vile.”
What Rubellian used in this attack incident was the assassin who had previously attacked him. Thanks to this, the House of Florence could remove itself from the list of suspects.
The imperial family and the House of Colica might suspect, but that was only circumstantial evidence without proof.
Therefore, what I needed to focus on now wasn’t that side.
My current goal was to make Melina’s reputation fall to the ground, to the point where even the imperial family couldn’t dare protect her.
‘Making Melina a complete wreck is easy.’
I deliberately let out a big sigh loud enough for the noble ladies engaged in conversation to hear.
“Duchess? Is there perhaps something wrong?”
Countess Alke cast a worried look toward me as I sighed and then fell silent.
Thank you for asking. If you hadn’t asked, I would have been awkwardly standing alone.
“Actually… I was thinking it would be good to get the saint’s help to make His Highness rise from his sickbed quickly, but I heard that the saint is also unwell.”
“Ah, come to think of it, the saint’s complexion was very pale when I saw her at yesterday’s ceremony.”
“Yes, so I was worried and asked what was wrong, and she said…”
I continued as if troubled.
“…she had experienced something unpleasant…”
“Something unpleasant?”
For a moment, the eyes of those listening to me seemed to sparkle. It was the perfect reaction for me.
But I deliberately looked flustered.
“Oh, did you perhaps not know… Oh, what should I do? I think I made a slip of the tongue. Since I’m a commoner, I’m not good at distinguishing what I should and shouldn’t say.”
Sorry, I only use my status at times like this.
I looked around frantically with a shocked expression.
However, at my reaction, the others made expressions as if they had caught a whale while fishing and perked up their ears.
“No, Duchess! Everyone here is tight-lipped.”
I don’t believe you.
“That’s right. Don’t be too surprised and tell us slowly.”
Ma’am, your mouth is stretched to your ears right now, your face is about to ascend to heaven.
I muttered to myself while scanning those who showed the peak of saying one thing and meaning another, but outwardly, I pretended to be unable to resist and spoke again.
“Actually… it seems someone tried to harm the saint. They sent the saint something with poison—”
“Heavens!”
“How could this be?”
As exclamations from noble ladies erupted from all directions, I could tell how interested they were in this topic.
Actually, it made sense. Since Rachel became a saint, her stories had been of interest to quite many people.
“Do you perhaps also know who did it?”
“I don’t really know that either… But I think it might be someone who harbors resentment toward the saint…”
“Oh my, who would dare harbor resentment toward the saint?”
“Well. It would probably be someone who envies or hates the saint.”
At my careful words, they fell silent, as if on cue. There were probably one or two people each had in mind.
But one thing was certain: Melina would definitely be among them.
“Oh dear, what a pitiful thing.”
Someone muttered insincerely. At that voice that wasn’t pitiful at all, I could be certain that my purpose had been somewhat achieved.
Melina Barnes was jealous of the saint and tried to harm her.
What I wanted was for them to somehow spread this one sentence as a rumor.
I observed the noble ladies’ expressions and gauged how quickly they could spread this rumor for me.
And judging by their expressions—
‘This will proceed quite quickly.’
I smiled brightly.
* * *
“But will those ladies really fall for those words?”
After returning from the tea party, Lilith asked with a worried face. She seemed to find my actions somewhat unreliable.
“Since they’re well-educated people, the effect of the rumors might not be good. Besides, even if their thoughts turn to Melina, it’s questionable whether they can easily say such things.”
“The rumor just needs to spread enough to get on Melina’s nerves.”
“What are you planning to do with that?”
“Make our Melina get pissed off and throw a tantrum?”
Think about it—she’s already angry that her plan failed, and then such rumors spread. What would she do first?
The crown prince had collapsed, so the House of Colica, which could give her advice, had their attention completely focused elsewhere, and she herself would obviously have her head in a mess by now.
“Still, I’m somewhat worried. I don’t know what kind of mischief Melina might do when cornered. Besides, His Highness the Crown Prince might interrogate her when he wakes up.”
“What, did I harm anyone? Did I cause any trouble? Ha, so what if I did cause some trouble? People can cause a little trouble while living.”
“I like your groundless confidence, my lady.”
“What?”
“And I like the confidence you have in being confident about your groundless confidence.”
“……”
Is she my anti-fan or my fan? I let out a deep sigh.
“Give this to Shangele.”
“This is…”
“And from now on, spread rumors in high society.”
“How?”
“A few days ago, the saint collapsed after eating ‘unidentified’ cookies delivered to the temple. And—”
“And?”
“Worried about this, His Highness personally visited the saint.”
“What good does such a rumor do for you, my lady?”
At Lilith’s question, I raised my index finger to my chin, and I smiled wickedly as I said.
“So that’s why! His Highness was showing interest in the saint.”
“…?”
“So that’s why! Rumors about Lady Melina harming the saint have been circulating.”
“…!”
“And so that’s why! Looking at such things, indeed, those rumors must be true, right?”
I smiled brightly, imitating the appearance of elegantly smiling nobles.
Spreading rumors in chunks is what amateurs do. To make people really believe, you need to cut rumors into small pieces, scatter them here and there, then throw in just one truth to support those rumors.
“If you add more flesh and blood to it, it’ll become an established fact among people. Well, she really did do it though.”
“Melina will obviously throw a tantrum.”
“That’s right.”
I smiled meaningfully. It would be good for me if Melina threw a tantrum. It would give me a chance to publicly make her a ‘fool.’
I smiled, recalling Melina’s venomous gaze.
When the crown prince wakes up, I hope his blood pressure bursts because of me and he dies immediately.
* * *
